www.maderatribune.comServing the Heart of California since 1892http://www.maderatribune.com/node/2268/atom.xml2015-03-03T22:57:24+00:00http://www.maderatribune.com/news/cancer-survivor-gets-her-%E2%80%98wish%E2%80%992012-07-10T09:41:48+00:002012-07-11T09:42:03+00:00Cancer survivor gets her ‘Wish’webmaster

A 6-year-old brain cancer survivor from Madera woke up Saturday morning with a huge surprise in her backyard — 25 local firefighters built a play set for her thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and UnitedHealthcare.

Deztiny Belmontes, soon to be a first-grader at Sherman Thomas Charter School, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had emergency surgery to remove it in November 2008 when she was just 2 years old.

“She still goes to (Children’s Hospital Central California) to get MRIs to make sure that it’s still gone,” said her mother, Cecilia Belmontes. “They haven’t told me she’s in remission yet, but she doesn’t have the tumor anymore.”

Belmontes doesn’t know who put her daughter on the Make-A-Wish list, but she was happy to see Deztiny’s huge smile as the firefighters put the play set together...